Located at Quanzhou Huaguang Vocational College, the courtyard beneath the longan tree serves as both a residence and studio for a photography curator. Tucked away in a secluded corner of the campus, it nestles within a small grove of vibrant longan trees. The design begins with a simple but profound concept: to preserve every tree and foster a harmonious relationship between the building and its natural surroundings.
The building’s mass is carefully interwoven among the trees, respecting their natural layout. Its form fans out organically like tree branches, creating five distinct “branches” that house the dining/kitchen area, studio, tea room, and two bedrooms. These spaces are connected by a circular exhibition hall, which encloses a central round courtyard along with several surrounding courtyards of varying shapes and sizes.
The interplay between architecture and environment is further shaped by the site’s conditions, including road access and orientation, as well as the functional needs of the residence. These factors give each courtyard its unique character.
The entrance courtyard on the north side borders campus roads and is distinguished by the vertical form of the cantilevered entrance canopy and the rooftop air conditioning unit. The studio opens onto a tranquil courtyard, defined by a welcoming scale and solid walls as a backdrop. Adjacent to the tea room lies a long rectangular garden beside the retaining wall on the east side of the site.
Between the two bedrooms, a courtyard faces south, while the dining area features floor-to-ceiling doors and windows that overlook the expansive southwest courtyard. A direct staircase from here leads to the rooftop terrace.
At the heart of the design, the circular central courtyard serves as a focal point in an otherwise seemingly irregular layout. Six vertical windows along the connecting corridor allow views deep into the residence, enhancing the sense of openness.
The rooftop terrace returns the building’s footprint to nature, bringing occupants closer to the tree canopy. During longan’s ripening season, one can easily reach out to pick fruit hanging from the branches.
At the outset of the project, the design team meticulously measured the distances between each pair of tree trunks, using triangular geometric relationships to precisely mark the location of every tree. This data formed the foundation for the design scheme, with final adjustments made on site during construction.
This single-story residence features the simplest and most economical flat-roof brick and concrete structure. The primary materials, all commonly found locally, include white coatings on both interior and exterior walls, cement floors indoors, green bricks in the courtyard, and pebbles matching the color of the longan fruit on the tree pool and rooftop terrace.
The longan tree remains the centerpiece of each courtyard, with the building itself acting as a container embracing the tree. Variations in the height of the tree ponds follow the original terrain’s natural undulations. The white walls serve as a canvas, where scattered shadows of the trees shift continuously throughout the day.
This campus residence is not only a private home for the curator and his wife but also a space for interaction and collaboration with other artists. The low walls around the courtyard provide privacy without completely blocking views outward, making the longan tree courtyard a beloved landscape for both teachers and students to explore.
Project drawings
△ Plant analysis chart of the site
△ Floor plan
△ Roof plan
△ Section diagram
△ Elevation drawing
△ Elevation drawing
△ Axonometric diagram
△ Axonometric diagram
△ Axonometric diagram
△ Axonometric diagram
Project Information
Architect: On Site Buildings
Area: 211 m²
Project Year: 2022
Photographers: Buildings Present, Fu Rui, Wu Qicui
Lead Architect: Zhong Wenkai
Design Team: Wang Dongyang, Gao Yuan, Li Chenyu
Landscape Design Collaboration: Yangliuqing
Client: Quanzhou Huaguang Vocational College
Location: Quanzhou
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